Yassi Pressman on viral bikini video: At least I didn’t take my clothes off
Screengrab of Yassi’s viral TikTok video
“Whatever shape you may have at the moment, you should be proud of yourself and your body,” declared Yassi Pressman, as a response to the mixed reactions from netizens after posting a TikTok video of herself dancing in a revealing two-piece bikini.
“I’ve always been open as well about my journey with my body and I’ve shown you all my stages.”
“Just keep doing what you do,” she advised her followers. “Dati po kasi natatakot ako palagi to show how I really am, in fear of judgement o baka may masabi o maisip ang mga tao pero ngayon sinasabi ko, ‘eto ako, this is me, with all my flaws and imperfections, kayo na bahala, basta ako, i’m just being me’ and with my openness at least now, if they laugh, they laugh with me and not at me.”
Yassi finds nothing wrong with women like her being seen wearing swimsuits. “Hindi naman po ako nagtanggal ng lahat ng damit, di ko naman po yun gagawin. Nakaswimsuit lang, baka lang po nagulat yung mga tao kasi di naman po ako laging nagpopost ng ganun. Kadalasan po kasi ng mga TikTok videos ko puro kalokohan o funny voice overs hehe,” she explained.
“I’m 27 years old now, and I’m proud of my body… of what I have been through. I try to make women more aware of our diversity and hopefully make us all a little bit less self-conscious,” Yassi said during a recent media gathering organized by TV5 to promote her latest project, the TV adaptation of the 1954 movie “Kurdapya.”
In the series directed by Easy Ferrer, Yassi plays two characters: the rich and bratty Daphne Santillan and the naive but lovable Kuring Bolocboloc. The two eventually decide to switch lives, a move that will eventually enable them to learn valuable life lessons.
“Daphne is very sexy, powerful and quite famous because of her family’s status, pero sobrang yabang n’ya in the beginning of the series. Masyadong harsh sa mga tao around her, and always longing for her Father’s attention kaya po madalas nagrerebelde siya. Sa kabila naman po, si Kuring is nothing like that. Napakasimple, tagaprobinsya, halos laging inaapi at inuutusan ng tiya na nagaalaga sakanya, at sa isang iglap, nang magkaharap na ang kambal, biglang magbabago ang buhay niya” Yassi said to explain the difference between the two female leads.
She added that she didn’t watch the movie version, which features Gloria Romero in the lead, prior to taping the series. “I was afraid that I might copy her nuances. Si Ma’am Gloria na po kasi yan, napakahusay naman po, gusto ko po sana machallenge ako without the pressure of the iconic original, I want to be able to come up with my most honest performance. Prior to doing [the Korean adaptation of the romantic film], ‘More Than Blue,’ I was able to watch the original. Kaya naman po sobrang pressured ko while filming the local version with JC (Santos). Syempre po papanuorin ko ang original ‘Kurdapya,’ pero pagkatapos po ng mga shooting sana po namin,” she said
Gloria Romero played Kurdapya in the 1954 movie version.
Playing four characters
“This is a really challenging project. It’s good that I have the support of my director and the entire production team. There were a lot of times when I felt really confused. I actually play four characters—Kuring, Daphne, Daphne pretending to be Kuring and Kuring pretending to be Daphne. It’s good that we use different tools, like wigs, to help differentiate these characters. To be able to express the right emotion and show the correct nuances in a particular scene seems to be the challenge in doing something of this genre,” Yassi explained.
This is Yassi’s first comedy project, and director Easy is impressed. The latter even described Yassi as “the perfect choice” to do Kurdapya. “In the beginning, I told her, ‘Paglaruan mo lang ang sarili mo ng todo-todo. That’s the goal of comedy.’ On our fifth day, we were already collaborating. We would exchange ideas on how each character should behave,” Easy recalled. “I appreciated it when I saw that she had learned to really love the role. Isinapuso n’ya. She didn’t care about whether she would look good onscreen. What was more important to her was that she was funny. She made my work as a director so easy.”
Yassi agreed with Easy and added: “I feel as if I’m already so baduy, but since Direk Easy approved everything that I did, I guess I’m doing OK. It’s also good that Daphne and Kuring complement each other. This is what I’ve discovered along the way.”
The actress admitted that she didn’t agree to do the project right away. “I asked, ‘May I think about it first?’ I felt so nervous at the start. This was never my forte. It was good that I got to work with Ate Vice (Ganda) in a movie. I got to observe how he would create a story on the spot and how good he is with timing. That’s when I realized that this genre is something else. My bosses told me, ‘Why don’t you give it a try?’ That’s when I opted to take on the challenge.”
Since she had to start taping right away, Yassi said she had no more time to attend acting workshops. “Tinimpla namin ng husto. In the beginning, I was really used to subtle acting, to the more natural kind. Direk Easy told me, ‘Just let it go. Give it your all.’ That’s exactly what I did. I would always check with Direk, and he approved.”
Inspired by Pablo S. Gomez’s popular classic, “Kurdapya” also features Marco Gumabao, Nikko Natividad, Ryza Cenon, Katya Santos, Candy Pangilinan and Lander Vera-Perez. It will air Saturdays, 6 to 7 p.m., starting on March 18 on TV5, with catchup airings on Sari Sari Channel Sundays at 8 p.m. beginning March 19.
